Newark, Irvington Men Accused of Deadly Short Hills Mall Carjacking

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Three Newark men and an Irvington resident have been charged in the fatal carjacking at The Mall at Short Hills last weekend, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office announced Saturday morning.

Hanif Thompson, 29, of Irvington, and Newark residents Karif Ford, 31, Basim Henry, 32, and Kevin Roberts, 33, were each charged with murder, felony murder, carjacking, conspiracy, possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose.

Henry was arrested by the FBI Task Force at a hotel in Easton, Pa., while the other three were apprehended in New Jersey, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray said at a Saturday morning press conference in Newark.

All four were arrested late Friday night or early Saturday morning.

Bail was set at $2 million for each of the defendants.

Dustin Friedland, 30, was shot in the head when he and his wife returned to their SUV in a parking deck shortly after 9 p.m. last Sunday. Friedland was pronounced dead at 11:45 p.m. that night at Morristown Medical Center. His wife, Jamie, who was uninjured, was also transported to the hospital.

Services for Friedland, an avid runner from Hoboken, were held Wednesday in South Jersey.

Investigators examined mall tapes and searched behind a vacant, boarded-up house on Renner Avenue in Newark where the SUV was found this week and a $41,000 reward was offered for information that led to the capture the carjackers.

Patch will continue to update this story.